Shout Out To The Guy In The Lobby Who Sat Next To My Wife Talking On The Phone About Haunted Doll Exorcism

"C, how is he Lilith's son, [source] doesn't mention her having a son"

adopted 👍 next question

Something I keep repeating over and over again.

You must cultivate your relationships.

It sounds silly. It sounds like something that should be common sense. But I feel like I have had to tell so many people that you need to give as well as be open and recieving.

Your relationships with the Divine (and anyone) must be tailored gently. "I saw this thing and it reminded me of you" so you send a link or a photo to someone you care about? Yeah that principle applies to the Divine, too. A rock. A photo. A piece of art. You bring them.

You also sit and talk. Have a coffee. Have a drink. Water. Dinner. You share a meal. You hold conversations. You hang out and bask in an afternoon setting sun and admire the birds.

If you are not doing this, That's why your relationships with the Divine feel flat and empty. It is not just about going through the motions, lighting a candle, offering incense. It isn't just about routine and saying the words. Your work with the Divine isn't your 9-5 job. And it doesn't deserve the same cold detachment you treat your job. It isn't to pay your bills. It's for spiritual and personal enrichment and growth.

OKAY

actual altar tour.

so,

we've got:

(from right to left)

several stone pillars

these are pretty assorted. i've got some obsidian, some red and black ones i can't remember the name of (some kind of jasper?), but mostly sunstone. his favorite. i also have some angelite in there, but it's greyed and has little copper/orange flecks, and a pillar of amethyst. there's also a huge fucking sunstone orb, but it's slightly obscured from view.

an entire bowl of other crystals

in here i know ive got some more obsidian, some blood jasper, i've got runic african bloodstone, peacock ore, fools gold, and rose quartz, and some assorted seashells.

black wing shaped holder

contains the giant sunstone orb.

two decks of cards

one of these is from the Luxor in las vegas, they're collectors cards, and the other are from the Nomad in the same area. he just likes playing cards and doing card tricks on occasion, so i figured mister slight of hand would appreciate them

tiny highland cow

plant/inscence

pretty sure this is black sage? i've never burned it, he's not a huge fan of fire in the house and has warned me against it. maybe one day i'll do a ritual burning if i can find a safe spot to.

giant orb and lady pedestal

he's for the femmes and the fags, and my favorite color is purple, so we compromised. however, the Giant Fucking Orb is not something I've ever been able to identify, crystal wise, that i bought specifically because it reminded me of the orchestrator's smile and his energy specifically. i was told it was maybe some kind of quartz..? until a roommate of mine told me how unnerved it made her feel. this roommate and i ended up having problems later on, though, so who knows. maybe he was just sending her 'eat shit and die' energy because she wasn't treating me well.

giant black box and other assorted box(es)

these are where i keep his more personal offerings. i won't disclose what they are atm. the open one is a jewelry set, though

flat black box

his personal set of d&d dice! i've found he prefers those to tarot, for some reason? especially when it comes to yes or nos. i got him a specific set of dice for divination and he's gone nuts over them ever since, communication has been streamlined. there is also a small silver rock on it, courtesy of my wife leaving it for him.

tiny glass + small container

that's a small chalice and edible glitter. i just gave him those for fun. he likes them

bottle of... meds?(not really)

this is a jar from MeowWolf's Omegamart. this is the label.

they're mints. i figured what better place to put my infinite gender supplements

glass portrait

made by someone who is no longer a friend, i took their energy from it and gave it to him instead. regardless of how long ago or how things ended, the love was still there, and he gave me a place to put it to rest in a way that was healthy.

giant flower crown(?)

this is more mine than his, but i saw it at a local renfair and asked if it would be out of line for me to have a headdress as a priestess. he responded with the equivalent of an amused 'i'm just glad you're having fun making me a religion, go for it' and i picked this one because it has horns that resemble his and his orange rose symbols. i wear it when i need a mood boost, and it brings me a lot of peace. i leave it on his altar because it looks nice, and because it gives him a chance to fill it with any energy he deems me needing.

funko pops

okay, so. these were never technically supposed to be his, but they ended up on the same shelf, and they keep the headdress up. he's snatched them by proximity and honestly im fine with that.

oh, and last but not least:

Painted model/pamphlet (right corner)

my wife printed and painted a model of him based off of my drawings and visions. it took her a few tries, but we cherish rough draft Cou as much as we cherish finished Cou. behind him is one of the pamphlets that i printed, and in his hand is a bracelet i recieved celebrating his birthday. a stranger made it for me and then gave it to me, and it just so happened to be my and his colors intertwined when i was having a really hard time.

anyways, thank you for coming to my altar tour! he accepts far more diverse offerings than this, but here are a few things we've left him over the years, haha.

altar tour eventually but in the meantime, here it is

grabbed a close up of his glass portrait because it looks cool

can't believe i didnt mention this, but if you think you've seen the orchestrator-

whether physically, signs wise, effects wise- feel free to tag me, throw it into my question box, or post and add it to my queue under #orchestrator tag or #orchestrator experience

i'm always looking for others who work with him, and love hearing about how he's affected lives outside my own, and if you're unsure if it is or isn't him, i'm more than happy to try and help you find out.

our first meeting, he showed up in my room after i had a nightmare. i was young enough that i didn't have the common sense to be afraid, so i said hi.

the shadow in the corner of my room seemed a better listener than anyone else in my house, so i just kept talking to him, and sooner or later, i actually started being able to picture him, hold him there, and have conversations. he was never fully human, but he had a corporeal-ish form. occasionally, i'd tell him to go protect friends of mine from their nightmares, and i'd hear reports of his presence soon after. most of them came to recognize him after a while, and it kinda became so commonplace that we referred to it as "taking turns with the redhead".

he's kinda just.. stuck around.

i'll make another post on how to bond with him. thanks for asking <3

shout out to the time one of my abusive parents i no longer speak to was running for an important state position and i got so mad i wanted to publicly pick a fight with her (both because of myself and because her political choices would hurt so many people) but couldn't, so i told Cou "if you don't, I will", and he singlehandedly tanked her political career by letting out the story and rumors of what happened to me under her care. get you a god who will do rightful karma and petty revenge

I saw this and I thought Tumblr might enjoy it

thinking about how i need to cut out spending and get back into crafting. he loves my homemade stuff and my silly ass uses him to justify all sorts of freakish purposes because they make me happy /lh

If there's one piece of advice I can give, it's to deconstruct your practice regularly.

How much of it is actually useful, how much of it applies to your spirits or cosmology?

Who or what do you neglect regularly? What areas need more attention, more focus? What flames need to be tended?

Is there anything that no longer serves a purpose? Can anything be simplified to greater effect? How much time do you devote to strengthening your core skills and foundations?

It's about cutting away the dead pieces, so that there is room for new growth to flourish.

sometimes the godspouse tag has those posts calling it hubris bc "a god would never _____ a human"

and god does it make me so mad and sad bc the implications behind it are so ??????

like to believe that being in a relationship with a god, be it platonic/romantic/sexual, (i never really see familial or teacher/mentor get shit on) is hubris implies that:

-humans are so lowly that the idea of a human being close to a god somehow dirties the god

-platonic relationships are the lowest tier of of relationships. those posts that are like "gods are not your friends" are always saying friends like it's a slur and it makes me so fucking mad. how do you view your friends????

-that sex is dirty, that lust is dirty, and beneath a god to experience esp with a human

-that marriage/romance is a higher tier relationship than familial, platonic, etc

like those posts almost seem to portray their gods with a sneer every fucking time. like it comes off like they think their god is handling them like a dirty dish they don't want to touch. like "sure i GUESS help you with your craft, human, but i don't want to be your friend" "i suppose i'll teach you to love yourself, human, but don't think that means i want to know you" "i'll tolerate hearing about your deepest traumas, human, but don't you dare tell me about your day"

it's sad to view your gods that way and it's maddening to see that rhetoric pushed onto others

like. i want to ask the people who post anti-godspouse posts "have you considered their god just loves them?? have you considered your god just loves you????? do you realise your god does more than tolerate you????? do you understand your god is not holding you like a bug they think is gross, they're not holding you out gingerly pinched between two fingers, they don't run away when they see you, they like you. they want to be close with you. they want to sit with you at the lunch table. they like you. they like you. they like you. okay???"

and sometimes a deity will wanna kiss you about it. and it's fine. it doesn't mean you're better than anyone else. it's just means they fucking like you. bc they don't like you because you're gods favorite princess and the most interesting girl in the world/ref. nothing changes about you when a god loves you. they love you because you are you. because of who you are now. they love you so much they feel it's safe to assume they will love you forever. that what godspousal is. it's different flavors of i love you forever except with a more formal agreement.

okay ? so chill!

tldr be normal about godspousual and be normal to godspouses bc ur god loves you and does not see you as dirt

how do y’all manage to pray without saying i love you a million times